Honnavalli N. Kumara

Salim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History · Department of Conservation Biology

The Himalayan water shrew, Chimarrogale himalayica, is widely distributed in South and East Asia. However, their distribution and ecology are not properly understood due to the elusive foraging techniques like hiding underwater in streams of riparian evergreen forests. The restricted habitat and food requirement of the species makes it challenging...

The ability to manipulate objects enables macaques to utilize resources well. Coconut (Cocos nucifera) is one such food that has high energy and nutrient value but requires complex motor skills for extraction. In this study, we examined theproficiency of a single group of Macaca fascicularis umbrosus from Campbell Bay, India, in feeding on differen...

Persistent use of the Mayurjharna forest by elephants led to its declaration as “Mayurjharna Elephant Reserve (ER)” in 2002; however, the usage changed over time. We describe the elephant movement pattern and the quality forage availability in the Mayurjharna ER. We collected past and current sightings of elephants from people and records of the Fo...

Hylobatids (gibbons and siamangs) are the smallest of the apes distinguished by their coordinated duets, territorial songs, arm-swinging locomotion, and small family group sizes. Although they are the most speciose of the apes boasting twenty species living in eleven countries, ninety-five percent are critically endangered or endangered according t...

Community Reserves, which are Community Conserved Areas, form the majority of the Protected Area Network in northeast India. Because this biodiverse region is threatened by a variety of anthropogenic activities, Community Reserves likely serve as refugia sites for stenotopic, cavity-nesting species such as some owls. To test this hypothesis, we con...

Alterations of the geographical ranges of animals have become a reason for interactions with humans, leading to various consequences. We describe the pattern of range expansion of Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) and implications for human-elephant interactions in the agricultural landscape of South West Bengal, India. We enquired about past and c...

Kumar PR, Deepak D, Kumara HN, Babu A. 2023. The occupancy of Great Indian Bustard (Ardeotis nigriceps) using local people's knowledge in the Deccan Plateau, Karnataka, India. Biodiversitas 24: 1400-1407. The Great Indian Bustard (Ardeotis nigriceps) (GIB) is a critically endangered species that went extinct in most of its geographical range and is...

Community Reserves (CRs) have been advocated for increasing the protected area coverage in northeast India where the land is primarily owned and managed by local indigenous institutions. To understand the significance of these reserves for the conservation of mammals , we investigated the diversity and abundance of mammals in five CRs in the Khasi...

An updated list confirms the presence of 134 species of wild mammals in the Western Ghats, India. The superimposed distribution range of all, and threatened species of mammals depicts the potential mammalian key diversity areas for the Western Ghats, which can be prioritized for long-term conservation. These mammalian key diversity areas are confin...

Bufoides kempi (Boulenger, 1919) known only from the two historical syntype specimens until now was rediscovered after more than a century from near its type locality in the Garo Hills, Meghalaya, northeastern India. Analysis of mitochondrial 16S rRNA gene reveals congenericity between B. kempi and B. meghalayanus with an inter-specific genetic div...

Elephants show a strong selection towards areas with high foraging opportunities at the landscape level making top-down decisions by first selecting patch types within landscapes and finally species within them. Understanding forage selection in a multi-use landscape is critical for prioritising patches for habitat management, ensuring availability...

In the original publication of the article, the second author’s name was wrongly published. The correct name is given in this correction.

Wind turbines have been recognised as an alternative and clean-energy source with a low environmental impact. The selection of sites for wind-farm often creates serious conservation concerns on biodiversity. Wind turbines have become a serious threat to migratory birds as they collide with the turbine blades in some regions across the globe, while...

Changes in the habitat can drive the species to adapt to the changing environment that may lead to a risk of infection and the emergence of diseases. The prevalence of gastrointestinal parasites (henceforth endo-parasites) in a species is an indicator of changing habitat conditions, and the study of the same is important when the species is restric...

Primates are among the globally imperiled fauna requiring urgent conservation interventions to protect their habitat. Information on species distribution and factors influencing it are vital to species management and habitat protection. In this study, we assessed habitat occupancy of the lion-tailed macaque (Macaca silenus), bonnet macaque (M. radi...

Northeast India, located in a global biodiversity hotspot, faces several biodiversity issues. These include shorter fallow periods between ‘jhum’ (shifting cultivation) cycles which give less time for forests to recoup, along with encroachment, logging and other developmental activities. This is leading to widespread habitat loss and degradation. I...

The Bengal slow loris Nycticebus bengalensis is a nocturnal primate, confined in India to the forests of the northeastern states. To understand better its range and occurrence in the state of Meghalaya, we surveyed nine community reserves, and interviewed 50 local people about their sightings of the species and to obtain a picture of the threats th...

Understanding people’s perceptions and knowledge about birds in an endemic bird area is a prerequisite for bird conservation. This is more so in the case of non-charismatic birds such as owls. In this context, we conducted a questionnaire survey about owls in the North Andaman Island between January 2016 and 2018. We interviewed 203 respondents fro...

The Slender Loris in India includes two subspecies, the Mysore Slender Loris and the Malabar Slender Loris, with unidentified populations at overlapping ranges of the subspecies. Prior to 1996, the knowledge on Indian lorises was mostly limited to laboratory studies, or some anecdotes from the wild. Since late 1990, several intensive field studies...

Effects of anthropogenic pressures on birds of the Andaman Islands have been documented to some extent, however studies on the effect of human activities on the behavioural response of these birds are limited. This study assessed the anti-predatory behaviour (flush response - FR and flight initiation distance - FID) of three owl species (Otus sunia...

We present a catalogue of herpetological specimens collected from select community reserves of Meghalaya, northeastern India. The collection comprises a total of 75 species of the herpetofauna, including 29 species of amphibians from 20 genera in seven families and 46 species of reptiles from 30 genera, in 10 families. We provide the details on num...

IUCN status of Nicobar Long-tailed Macaque

Non-human primates are highly threatened as a result of habitat destruction, agricultural expansion, industrial development, large-scale build-ups and wildlife trafficking. Nearly 60% of all primates are threatened and many are found in habitats with some form of human modifications (e.g., croplands and plantations). The adaptability of primates to...

Loris lydekkerianus (L. lydekkerianus) are endemic primates of peninsular India. The current and future potential distribution and range shift of L. lydekkerianus were studied using a maximum entropy (maxent) machine learning algorithm. Four scenarios of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)’s fifth assessment, that is, representativ...

In primates, males compete for a mate, which is a non-sharable resource. This makes the conditions less conducive for males to have stable relationships. One such special kind of relationship is a bond where the interactions are reciprocated, equitable and differentiated. Bonds in macaque societies are based on the degree of within-group contest co...

India harbors a wide diversity of primates with 24 species that include lorises, macaques, langurs and gibbons. Systematic research on the primates in India started about 60 years ago. In order to develop a historical perspective, we recognize three broad phases of primate research: largely natural history and base line research, primarily behavior...

Nilgiri langur

IUCN Fact sheet

Lion-tailed macaque

Increased occupation of primate habitats by humans has forced primates into close contact with their settlements and crops. We conducted a survey with the island settlers on Great Nicobar Island to investigate the conflict between farmers and Nicobar long-tailed macaques. The conflict may have increased following the 2004 tsunami due to the co-depe...

Precise knowledge of a species’ habitat requirements is essential for its conservation. Very little information exists on the habitat requirements of the Malabar slender loris (Loris lydekkerianus malabaricus), a nocturnal primate, making it difficult to formulate conservation action plans. The goal of this study was to evaluate the ecological dete...

We studied endangered golden langurs in fragmented and altered habitats to understand the consequences of habitat conditions on group size, social organization, and birth seasonality. We selected 12 groups inhabiting forest edge and forest core of Chakrashila Wildlife Sanctuary (henceforth Chakrashila WLS) and adjoining the Abhaya rubber plantation...

Evolution, Ecology and Conservation of Lorises and Pottos - edited by K. A. I. Nekaris March 2020

Primates maintain social bonds with specific individuals in the group by directing grooming toward them. Social grooming is often targeted toward individuals with whom the most benefits can be exchanged, which are usually the high-ranking individuals. We used the Seyfarth model to investigate whether dominance rank alters the distribution of groomi...

Precise knowledge of a species’ habitat requirements is essential for its conservation. Very little information exists on the habitat requirements of the Malabar slender loris, a nocturnal primate, in the wild, making it difficult to come up with conservation action plans. The goal of the present study is to establish the ecological determinants of...

Precise knowledge of a species’ habitat requirements is essential for its conservation. Very little information exists on the habitat requirements of the Malabar slender loris, a nocturnal primate, in the wild, making it difficult to come up with conservation action plans. The goal of the present study is to establish the ecological determinants of...

Chinkara (Gazella bennettii), the Indian gazelle, is a widespread antelope in the arid and semi-arid regions of the Indian subcontinent; however, the species has been relatively unexplored to the south of its distribution range. In 2016, with indefinite evidence of chinkara presence in Yadahalli Reserved Forest, Karnataka, India, the Forest Departm...

In this paper we present an updated checklist of mammals found in Meghalaya. Using online databases and search engines for available literature, we provide the scientific names, accepted English names, conservation status as per IUCN Red List, Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act schedules, appendices in CITES, local distribution status, endemism, last...

A Rapid Impact Assessment report and management plan by SACON on the impacts of the Proposed Road Alignment across Kalrayan and Shervaroys hill forest area

This study examines gastrointestinal parasites in the endangered lion-tailed macaque, which is sympatric with the bonnet macaque that has relocated from nearby towns or agriculture landscapes dominated by humans and livestock. One hundred and ninety-four fresh fecal samples from lion-tailed macaques were collected from a group located at Chiksuli i...

A rank changeover is a sexual strategy by primate males to gain access to reproductive females. We observed one such event in the Nicobar long-tailed macaque (Macaca fascicularis umbrosus) at the Great Nicobar Island, India. In the three and half months of the post-rank changeover period, the home range reduced significantly while there was no chan...

The burrows are structurally significant microhabitats affecting the survivability of several species seeking refuge in arid and semi-arid landscape 1. ➢ Several burrowers inhabit underground shelters of 'primary excavators', as obligatory or non-obligatory commensal associates 2,3. ➢ The process of digging underground shelters is energetically cos...

The Indian crested porcupine, Hystrix indica, is a significant ecosystem engineer that builds extensive burrows in the semi-arid regions of north-west India. Many different animals use these burrows as temporary retreats or permanent shelters. Camera-traps were used to record 22 species using porcupine burrows, including 10 mammals, 8 birds, 3 rept...

We witnessed mortalities of Spot-billed Pelicans Pelecanus philippensis between December 2017 and May 2018 in Mandya and Mysuru districts of Karnataka, especially at Kokrebellur Community Reserve in Mandya district. The region has experienced severe drought in recent years with negligible water in all the water tanks. A total of 67 Spot-billed Peli...

Factors that influence the distribution and abundance of the endemic and threatened owls of the Andaman Islands have not been assessed, in contrast to those affecting diurnal birds. Such studies would assist in prioritising habitats that have high conservation importance for owls. We evaluated the status and species composition of owls along c. 343...

The Madras hedgehog ( Paraechinus nudiventris ) is a less-known insectivorous mammal, endemic to southern India, and known from the states of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. The nocturnal habit, small body size and elusive nature of P. nudiventris have resulted in limited studies on its habitat selection and ecology. Th...

Relocation is one of the mitigating measures taken by either local people or related officers to reduce the human-bonnet macaque Macaca radiata conflict in India. The review on relocations of primates in India indicates that monkeys are unscreened for diseases or gastrointestinal parasites (henceforth endoparasites) before relocation. We collected...

Existing models of attachment do not explain how death of offspring affects maternal behavior. Previous descriptions of maternal responsiveness to dead offspring in nonhuman anthropoids have not expounded the wide variation of deceased-infant carrying (DIC) behavior. Through the current study, we attempt to (a) identify determinants of DIC through...

Kudremukh Wildlife Division is one of the largest of the Protected Area Network (henceforth the Kudremukh Forest Complex) in the Western Ghats that includes Kudremukh National Park, Someshwara Wildlife Sanctuary and Mookambika Wildlife Sanctuary, covering an area of about 1,285 km². The Kudremukh Forest Complex support three species of diurnal non-...

We studied large mammals in Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary of Kerala. Twenty-seven species of large mammals were recorded during the study. As a rain shadow region in Kerala, the vegetation includes dry forest types with good riparian forests and little evergreen forest in upper reaches. This variation in vegetation types supports a wide variety of lar...

Group living primates often participate in between-group encounters to defend monopolizable resources. Participation in an encounter is influenced by the density and abundance of resources and the relative fighting ability of groups. We studied between-group encounters in three groups of Nicobar long-tailed macaques (Macaca fascicularis umbrosus) i...

Macaques possess a repertoire of extractive foraging techniques that range from complex manipulation to tool-aided behaviors, to access food items that increase their foraging efficiency substantially. However, the complexity and composition of such techniques vary considerably between species and even between populations. In the present study, we...

Availability and use of a natal burrow site is a prerequisite for survival, propagation, and breeding success for many burrow-dependent species. Among mammals, canids typically use existing burrows of other animals during the breeding season. The study describes the factors influencing the golden jackal (Canis aureus) in selecting appropriate burro...

A study of the activity patterns, time allocation for each activity and variations in activities due to environmental alterations are necessary for understanding the biology of any species. This study investigates the relationship of micro-habitat and environmental conditions with seasonal and temporal activities of Indian crested porcupines (ICP)...

We recorded the Common Shelduck Tadorna tadorna in Shettikeri tank and it turned out to be a first record of the species for the state Karnataka. Further, it appears like a wild vagrant to Karnataka and Southern peninsula.

We report the breeding of the Ceylon Kentish Plover Charadrius alexandrinus seebohmi in Vani Vilasa Sagara, Hiriyur Taluka in the state of Karnataka, India. This is the first breeding record of the sub-species from Karnataka and this shows a lack of ornithological explorations in the wetlands of central Karnataka.

The Nicobar long-tailed macaque (Macaca fascicularis umbrosus) is confined to the southern and central Nicobar archipelago. We have collected demographic and birth data for five groups of M. f. umbrosus to understand their group structure, demography and breeding seasonality. Group size, individuals in age- sex classes and age-sex ratio did not var...

‘Basking’ is the most conspicuous thermoregulatory behavior in many animals that enable them to enhance physiological performance. Several terrestrial poikilothermic ectotherms have adapted to thermoregulate through basking and seek refuge in subterranean burrows in extreme climatic conditions. Particularly in reptiles, selecting appropriate activi...